US judge demands flight details of Venezuelan deportees
WASHINGTON—A US judge on Tuesday demanded more details from the Trump administration on two deportation flights that took off this weekend despite his order temporarily banning the removal of people from the United States under an 18th-century law.
US district judge James Boasberg in Washington, on Saturday imposed a two-week halt to deportations under President Donald Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to declare that the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua was conducting irregular warfare against the United States.
The judge asked the Justice Department to address why the flights went on to land in El Salvador anyway.
The incident has fueled concerns that the Republican president is further pushing the boundaries of executive power and setting up a potential constitutional clash with the judiciary.
Trump on Tuesday called for Boasberg to be impeached, prompting a rebuke from US chief justice John Roberts.
In response to Boasberg’s question, Justice Department lawyers said in court papers on Tuesday the two flights had left US airspace before the judge’s written order was issued at 7:25 p.m. EDT (2325 GMT), and said his earlier spoken orders in court were not enforceable.
That prompted further questions from the judge.
Boasberg ordered the government to tell him by noon on Wednesday when exactly the planes took off, when they left US airspace, when they landed, when the people on board were transferred out of US custody, and how many people on board were deported solely based on the 1798 Alien Enemies Act.
He said the government could submit the information under seal.
